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Yes that’s right…Peri Peri Chicken Wings! We all know and love the famous flavours of peri peri chicken from Nando’s but have you ever tried to make it at home? It’s delicious and cheaper!

Now if the weather was a little bit nicer, I would highly recommend cooking the chicken on the barbecue. But its a bit early for barbecue season so you can still make this in the comfort of your own kitchen. All you need is a grill pan and an oven! I blasted the wings on a very hot grill pan first to get that charred effect that gives great flavour and then whack them in the oven to cook through. Here’s how I made the marinade:

Blend together:

1 chopped onion

4 garlic gloves

2 whole chillies (or more/less depending how hot you like them)

2 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp oregano

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt and pepper

1 tsp oil

1 handful chopped parsley

Now you can adjust this recipe to suit your taste buds and experiment! Leave the skin on the wings and marinate for a few hours or overnight. Then when you are ready to cook, blast them on the grill pan either side and then cook them through in the oven. Serve with wedges and salad and enjoy!

With all this hype about how butter is now good for us, I couldn’t not cook butter chicken and share it with all you lovely people. Now I don’t know if butter is good for us, bad for us, or simply tormenting us but what I do know is that it’s delicious and seems to make everything taste better. But yes, everything in moderation I can hear you say.

I basically followed this recipe but used Pataks Kashmiri spice paste rather than a powder. You can get this in most of the supermarkets and it gives the curry a great flavour.

I marinated the chicken (for the whole day) in yoghurt, ginger, garlic and chilli paste, tomato puree, Kashmiri paste, lemon, salt, chilli powder turmeric, ground cumin and coriander powder. I then placed the chicken on skewers and cooked it in the oven to get nice and charred.

To make the sauce I fried a chopped onion in some butter, and once browned I then added a chopped tomato, ginger, garlic and chilli paste, tomato puree and the Kashimiri paste. I added different spices such as turmeric, chilli powder, cumin, coriander powder and let this cook into a thick paste. Next I added about 100ml of single cream to give the sauce a creamy taste. I let the sauce down with some boiling water and let it simmer. I preferred to do this than use lots of double cream so I would feel less guilty!

Once the chicken is charred I added it to the sauce alongside all its juices and its done! Add some fresh coriander and serve with naan bread or chapatis and basmati rice. Delicious!

If you are vegetarian you can always make this sauce and use hearty veg such as cauliflower and sweet potato. I like my curries a bit spicy but if you don’t then you don’t have to add any chilli, but go on…spice up your life! (Gosh that was cheesy)

How many of you love to eat at Wagamama’s? I know I do. Their food has become so popular but one dish that seems to stand out is their Chicken Katsu Curry. It’s crispy breaded chicken served with sticky white rice and an aromatic curry sauce poured over it. Apparently it’s one of their most ordered dishes. So I thought lets try it at home!

Now I know what you are thinking…why bother? Well, it’s actually really easy to make and if you don’t eat chicken you can always substitute it for fish or vegetables such as aubergine or courgettes. Plus it’s fun and satisfying to make your own! If you can get panko breadcrumbs from your local supermarket, I would really recommend it. It makes the coating really crispy in a way that normal breadcrumbs can’t. If you can’t get them, then try and toast your breadcrumbs slightly so they are crunchy.

Also the curry sauce is so easy to make and yet it is the star of the show. I like spicy food so I added chilli flakes to mine to just give it some heat. Go on give it a try! Recipe is below…

I adapted a few recipes from online and recipe books. This recipe feeds 2-3 people. Here’s how I did it…

Ingredients:

Breast chicken (one per person)

Plain flour

1 egg

Panko breadcrumbs

For the curry sauce:

1 onion

2 cloves of garlic

1 thumb size piece of ginger

1 carrot

1 tbsp medium curry powder

Splash of soy sauce

A pinch of garam masala

1 tsp Brown sugar

Chilli flakes to taste (optional)

Chicken stock or stock cube

Basmati rice or sticky rice

Method:

To prepare the chicken, place it between some greaseproof paper and bash the thick side with something heavy to tenderise the chicken and flatten it out. Then prepare the chicken by coating it in seasoned flour, then egg and then the panko breadcrumbs. Make sure its evenly coated and place in the fridge until ready to cook.

For the curry sauce: Roughly chop and saute the onion, carrot, garlic and ginger in olive oil until soft and slightly caramelised. Add the curry powder and a tablespoon of plain flour to make a thick paste and cook out the flour. Then slowly add the chicken stock to make a sauce to the consistency you like. Add a splash of soy sauce, a tsp of brown sugar and a pinch of garam masala and season to taste. Add chilli flakes if you want a spicy hit. I recommend it! Then blend the sauce using a hand blender (optional). Let it simmer and thicken slowly.

Take the chicken out of the fridge 10 minutes before you are ready to cook it. Shallow fry the chicken breasts in olive oil until cooked through and golden. Slice into strips.

Serve with sticky or basmati rice and salad or vegetables of your choice and pour the curry sauce over the top. Enjoy!

I love London. I went there this weekend and I came back with a greater love for the hustle and bustle lifestyle of London. Granted my small legs are not made for the never ending steps in the underground, but other than that it’s great! I came across people who were friendly and would happily agree to have their picture taken.

But the one thing I loved more than anything in London was the food. Oh the food. I felt like I was in a different country! Chicken burgers with turkey bacon that was revealed from under a glass dome of heavenly oak wood smoke, served with rustic skin on fries and washed down with a salted caramel milkshake. Enough calories? I think so.

We also went to Spitalfield market where we found fresh pastries, cupcakes, jerk chicken and more (but not altogether).

When sitting down in a restaurant for brunch, I couldn’t help but notice the great atmosphere. People eating amazing food, laughing and reminiscing whilst drinking colourful cocktails. So I seized the opportunity and asked these people if I could take pictures of them and they happily agreed.

There’s something about food that brings people together, don’t you agree? Follow my blog to see the progress in my project about food culture and appreciating the love of food!